Category: BASEBALL

Hall of Fame induction

Salem County Sports Hall of Fame to enshrine seven remaining members of this year’s induction class Thursday at Salem CC; Salem NFL running back Jonathan Taylor was enshrined earlier this summer

From Salem Community College

CARNEYS POINT – The seven remaining members of this year’s Salem County Sports Hall of Fame induction class will go marching into the Hall Thursday night in ceremonies at Salem Community College’s Davidow Theatre.

The Salem County SHOF Board has selected these individuals for induction in the latest ceremony. Former Salem High School current NFL running back Jonathan Taylor was inducted in a separate ceremony earlier in the summer.

Lex Bleckley (professional baseball) 
Jaymes Dennison (track) 
James Dickerson (track) 
Nick Elmer (football)
Steve Merritt (coach)
Donna O’Leary (coach)
Latika Ross (basketball) 

In addition, the Hall board will recognize Vince Gioia and Steve Lopes for their decades of service to Salem County sports as well as the following high school state champions:

Penns Grove’s three-time NJSIAA Group I state champion Boys Track Team (2013-15); 

Penns Grove’s two-time NJSIAA Group I state champion Girls Track Team (2013-14); 

Pennsville’s  Megan Morris (2024 Pole Vault); Salem’s DaviYonn Jackson (2023-24 Triple Jump); Salem’s 2024 girls 4×100 Relay (Sairis Jimenez, Karima Davenport-White, Morgan Van Dover, Rhi’Onna Timmons); Salem’s 2024 girls shot put relay (Dominique Lewis and Ryann Mulhorn); Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield (2023 cross country 2024 1600); and Woodstown 2024 boys 4×800 Relay (Karson Chew, Joshua Crawford, Jacob Martino, Cole Lucas).

Admission is free and no tickets are required. The ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m.


Here is a thumbnail look at the Hall of Fame inductees

LEX BLECKLEY was a product of the Pennsville sports system, playing football and baseball. He is most proud of the baseball championships from an early age through his decorated career at Pennsville Memorial High School.  The championships include district titles in Little League, State and Mid-Atlantic Champions in Babe Ruth and a state championship his senior year with a 25-0 record and the No. 1 ranked team in the state. The undefeated season has not been duplicated. 

His personal accomplishments include three-time All-Salem County, two-time Tri-County, two-time South Jersey Group II, two-time All-South Jersey, Group II All State, All-State First Team and Today’s Sunbeam Player of the Year. He finished his career at Pennsville with a .503 batting average and a team win-loss record of 66-6. He was taken in the major league draft twice.

The Kansas City Royals drafted Bleckley after his high school career, but he elected to attend the University of Delaware, where he was a three-year starter at shortstop. During his UD career, the Blue Hens were East Coast Conference champions twice and missed making it to the College World Series by one game, losing in the finals. Lex came in second for the Division I batting title with a .455 average his junior year and was named ECC Player of the Year. He was drafted and signed by the Montreal Expos. After his playing career ended, he was head coach at Salem Community College for two years. Currently, he resides in Florida with his wife and son.

JAYMES DENNISON excelled in track at Penns Grove High School. A member of the Class of 2013, Jaymes was a two-time state champion. He won the 800 in his junior year and the 400 in his senior year. He helped lead the team to a Group 1 team state championship in 2013, and holds school records in the 800.

He was a three-time South Jersey champion in the 800 meters. As a senior, he finished seventh in the Meet of Champions in one of the most competitive 800-meter races in its history.

His post-high school accomplishments may be more impressive. In two years at Iowa State, he was a two-time NCAA All-American in 2018, Second Team All-American in the 4×400 meter relay and Honorable Mention All-American in the 800 meters. He was the Big 12 indoor champion in the 600 meters. Before enrolling at Iowa State, he was a two-time junior college indoor national champion in the 600 meters.

JAMES (JIMMY) DICKERSON graduated from Salem High School in 1964. Following high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force for eight years and traveled extensively throughout Europe. While serving in the military, Jimmy was a medic.

In addition to his medic responsibilities, he played in the European Conference, on the track and field team, where he placed first in high jump at 6-10 and excelled in the triple jump. He also made the All-Europe Football Team as a running back and kick returner. After his tour of duty, Jimmy was an OSHA inspector at BF Goodrich in Pedricktown until his retirement.

In 1976, Jimmy was invited to attend Philadelphia Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil’s tryout camp. Although not selected, he considered meeting fellow tryout attendee Vince Papale, who went on to make the Eagles’ roster, an experience of a lifetime.

At 34, Jimmy enrolled at Gloucester County College and competed in the track and field high/triple jump. He never lost a match during his two seasons. Community focused, Jimmy is involved in coaching youth basketball and mentoring.  In addition, he is an active member of his church and sings in the senior choir.

NICK ELMER was a multi-sport athlete (football, wrestling, track and field) at Penns Grove High School.

In football, he set school records for passing yards (4,580) and passing touchdowns (61). He also helped lead PGHS to a record-breaking 2012 season and a South Jersey Group 1 championship in which he rushed for a record 308 yards in the title game. The 2012 team still holds the record for most points scored in a season in South Jersey history. He earned All-State First Team honors in 2012 and was the Philadelphia Inquirer South Jersey Player of the Year.

As a wrestler, Nick amassed a school-record 137 victories and qualified for the state tournament on twice, ultimately earning a seventh-place finish in 2013. He continued his academic and athletic career in wrestling at Drexel University, where he was a varsity starter for two years, accumulating 31 wins and a spot on the podium in the 2016 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Conference Tournament and earned an EIWA Academic Achievement Award in the same year.

He went on to medical school at Thomas Jefferson University, where he graduated cum laude and as a member of the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honors society. He is currently a plastic surgery resident at NYU Langone Hospital in New York City.

DONNA O’LEARY graduated from Paulsboro High School and was a two-sport varsity athlete (field hockey and tennis) there. She also swam competitively year-round at the Woodbury YMCA.  

She earned a degree from Glassboro State College as a health/physical education major. Playing field hockey and swimming in college were important milestones in her path to becoming a coach. After graduation, she became the head women’s swim coach at Glassboro State. During those six years, she produced six All-Americans. 

In 1988, Salem City hired her as a full-time health/physical education teacher in the elementary school and as the field hockey head coach at Salem High School. After taking the reins from Liz Pappas, she put her heart into making the field hockey program successful and she accumulated 315 wins and seven Tri-County championships.  She was a two-time Coach of the Year. 

LATIKA ROSS, a 2001 Salem High School graduate, excelled in both basketball and track and field. In track, she broke the 800-meter record as a sophomore. In basketball, she became the third Lady Ram to join SHS’s 1000-point club and pulled down over 1,000 rebounds as a four-year varsity player. Latika earned numerous accolades, including All-Tournament Team and First Team for All South Jersey Group 1 and Tri-County Conference Classic Divisions for two consecutive years. Today’s Sunbeam named her Player of the Year in 2001.

Moving on to Salem Community College, Latika amassed 1,130 points and 1,028 rebounds over two years, earning National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Second Team honors. She holds the NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball regular-season record for rebound average (23.2 per game in 2002-03).

After attending Drexel University for one year on a full athletic scholarship, Latika transferred to Saint Augustine’s University (SAU), where she made the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association All-Tournament Team and averaged a double-double her senior year (10 points, 10 rebounds per game). Graduating from SAU with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and 3.9 grade point average, Latika embarked on a successful 15-year career in accounting. 

Today, she channels her talents into entertainment as an actress, producer and stand-up comedian, performing under the name Latika Sye (a family surname).

STEVE MERRITT was never the last to be picked for any of the seasonal schoolyard games, until he turned 12 and lost a game of “chicken” with the front end of a Buick or Pontiac. It’s not clear to this day. A significant injury cost him any speed he might have had or would have.  Nonetheless, it is difficult to temper a Type A personality and there was always some kind of competition at home with three brothers.

A single junior varsity season of baseball and senior year “cup of coffee” as a wrestler sums up his high school athletic career.  Intramural softball and volleyball were competitive outlets at Glassboro State College.

After college, long-distance running became his outlet for competition. His omnipresent opponent became the stopwatch.  No longer did he have to finish first to win. He ran the New York City Marathon twice, the Marine Corps Marathon twice and the Boston Marathon in 1992.

A combined 50 varsity seasons (tennis, soccer, basketball and softball) as a head coach at Salem High School yielded over 500 victories, four South Jersey Championships, three Tri-County Classic titles and helped to satisfy his yen for competition. Earlier this summer he was named the girls basketball coach at Pennsville High School.

Community Service

VINCENT GIOLA JR. graduated from Penns Grove High School in 1968 and began working for DuPont Chambers Works in 1969, retiring in 2010. To say his life revolved around sports would be an understatement. 

Vince first coached in 1969 and over the next 50 years spent countless hours coaching, managing and maintaining the fields at the Carneys Point Recreation Complex for the Carneys Point-Penns Grove-Pedricktown Little League and Penns Grove Soccer Club. 

Vince played and coached in both the Salem County Men’s Baseball League (1969-1976) and the PG-CP Men’s Softball League (1975-2015) while also serving as a league officer and a liaison with Salem County. He coached for the PG mini-wrestling organization (1979-1986), managed for the PG-CP Women’s Softball (1978-1982), and for the PG Babe Ruth (1985-1987). Vince also coached PG Twins 130 lb. football team (1985-1991) and was head coach of the SCC’s softball team (1991-1995, 2011-2013). 

Vince has been a member of the South Jersey Officials Association (football) since 1999 and Unified Umpire Association of Southern New Jersey since 2007. He served on the Carneys Point Recreation Commission (1999-2023) and was chairman (2004-2023). Vince managed the CP Recreation Complex (2004-2023) and was president of the Servicemen’s Memorial Home (2015-2023). Today, Vince can be found on a field or in a gym in South Jersey officiating, umpiring or just watching his grandchildrens’ games or any game, for that matter.

STEVE LOPES graduated from Penns Grove High School in 1964, after playing three years of varsity basketball with coach Rudy Baric. 

For 45 years, Steve has officiated over 800 high school football games. He had the honor of officiating over 50 state playoff games, including several state championship games at Rutgers, Giants and MetLife Stadiums. Steve has served as the president of New Jersey Football Officials Association – South, the organization representing football officials in South Jersey. Additionally, he is an official for the NFL’s Girls Flag Football program and officiated the Big 33 tournament sponsored by several NFL teams. In addition, Steve has umpired high school, college and semi-pro baseball for 17 years.

For 16 years, Steve managed in the Penns Grove-Carneys Point-Pedricktown Little League and Babe Ruth League, where his teams won several league and district titles. He has played and managed a senior (ages 50, 60, 70) baseball team in Carneys Point.  For over 20 years, Steve has played in men’s senior baseball national tournaments in Florida and Arizona. 

A hidden gem

Growing Bridgeton museum overflows with memorabilia linked to South Jersey’s rich sporting past; Morganti to enter HOF Saturday

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BRIDGETON — If you’re not quite sure where you’re going you just might miss it, just like Todd Frazier did – twice – with humorous results when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, but once you get there you’ll be amazed at what’s inside.

VALELLA

From the outside, Building 7 that houses the All Sports Museum (and Hall of Fame) of Southern New Jersey appears to be just another unassuming building in the city’s athletic complex, but within its walls contains a veritable treasure trove of memorabilia commemorating the region’s rich sporting past.

The quaint five-room, 1,500-square foot white bungalow that serves a variety of purposes for the city houses more than 15,000 artifacts, photos and films from across the sporting spectrum with some connection to the state’s eight southern-most counties – only about half of which is currently on display. 

“A hidden gem, you said the exact words,” museum and Hall chairman Dom Valella said during a recent tour for a first-time visitor. “When we have an athlete down here who’s not familiar with this area and they see it, they say this is a hidden gem you have here.

“We’re very proud of that. We’re all volunteers; we’re all guys who just love the sport, love doing this. We just enjoy having the athletes come down (and) meeting them on a personal level.”

It certainly gave pause to Frazier, the former Shore-area baseball great who gained early fame as the hero of Toms River East’s 1998 Little League World Series title team and went on to become a two-time major-league All-Star and Home Run Derby champion over 11 big-league seasons. Once he found the museum, he was, of course, blown away by its offerings.

The story goes that Frazier was driving around town looking for the building and twice was stopped by local police as a suspicious vehicle. Once it was determined who they had detained and what his purpose was for being in the area, they gave him a full police escort to the facility.

It is easy to see how one could get waylaid. The official address is 8 Richie Kates Way, a street just off the main drag renamed in honor of the local boxer and Hall of Fame inductee who twice fought for the light-heavyweight championship and had WBA champ Victor Galindez beat in their 15-rounder in South Africa. (There’s a life-sized cutout of a ring-ready Kates right outside the case displaying his memorabilia as well as homages to Joe Frazier (who trained for a time in Vineland and sparred with Kates in Philadelphia) and Jersey Joe Wolcott).

But to have the GPS get you there you have to punch in 8 Burt Street.

It’s two turns off Hwy. 49 as you get into town, just past the high school football stadium and right across the street from Alden Field, home of the annual Bridgeton Invitational semi-pro baseball tournament that introduced MLB to the concept of pitch clocks and designated hitters long before those innovations became fashionable. They still talk about the night two of tournament teams brought in a couple ringers named Dickie Noles and Tug McGraw to pitch against each other.

The museum has items from every sport imaginable. There’s an early vaulting pole, a French foil from the 70s, the original four-pound green sneakers of the Phillie Phanatic (a popular item with the kids), local trophies that date back to 1904, photos that go back to 1896, several game-used equipment and jerseys and more than 200 autographed baseballs. There’s a bat from Jackie Robinson and even the partial uniform of baseball’s first professional female umpire, Bernice Gera, which landed in their cases after swapping the complete uniform they had with Cooperstown.

“People are surprised at how big it is,” said Ed Forman, in his 19th year as the fourth-ever curator of the museum that was founded by Ed Alden as a Bridgeton-centric repository. “Looking at it from the outside it looks like we just have one room or something like that, so when they come in and find out we have this room and this room and this room … (they’re amazed).

“I love the fact they’re amazed. Mostly everything here was donated. The only things that weren’t donated were the two (Little League World Series) trophies in the first room. It is impressive. I’m impressed with some of the things.”

Dom Valella, chairman of the All-Sports Museum of Southern New Jersey, points to the plaque of Flayers great Rick MacLeish, one of the nearly 150 inductees into the museum’s Hall of Fame. The next Hall induction ceremony is Saturday.

There’s a heavy presence of Phillies, Eagles and Flyers – many of whom lived in the South Jersey suburbs – but there is just as much emphasis on the accomplishments of athletes with natural roots in the area. 

Coming through the door you’re welcomed by a display cases honoring locally high school and Little League championship teams. There are rooms dedicated to baseball, football, basketball and hockey. There are dedicated displays for Baseball Hall of Famer Goose Goslin; football’s George Jamison, Lydell Mitchell and Dave Robinson; track’s John Borican and auto racing pioneer Bunky Higbee. The exhibit for Millville native son Mike Trout takes up an entire wall.

There’s even a “writers wing,” a section dedicated to prominent local media, whose ranks will increase by one with Saturday’s Hall of Fame induction of Al Morganti, a Massachusetts kid who earned his chops as a Philadelphia hockey writer and network analyst. His induction brings to 135 the coaches, athletes, contributors, pioneers and teams enshrined in the Hall with many more luminaries holding a place in the museum.

There’s a distinction between the Hall of Fame and the museum – not all museum benefactors are inducted into the Hall, but inductees are asked if they’d like to donate an item to the Hall – but If there’s a connection to South Jersey, no matter how small, it’s in there.

‘Our mission statement is to preserve, protect and display all sports memorabilia connected from Philly on down, South Jersey and Philly,” Valella said. “It is surprising (the number of accomplished sportsmen hail from the area). We should be proud of it.”

Everyone who comes through the museum, which is open with free admission from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday or by appointment, has a favorite piece, but the star of the show is the 1960 National League Gold Glove of Willie Mays, whose connection to South Jersey runs from his days as a minor leaguer in Trenton to his somewhat controversial (at the time) connection to promoting the casinos in Atlantic City.

Mays, who passed away earlier this summer, came to Bridgeton as a guest of the Invitational. Between games tournament officials were known to give away baskets of local peaches and plums as door prizes. A son of the south, Mays wasn’t interested in peaches, but did want to know what it’d take to get some of those plums.

Tournament organizers said if he made a donation to the museum they’d provide him as many plums as he could stand. Mays told them to come see him at Resorts and he’d have something for them. When they arrived, he presented them the Gold Glove (he won 12 of them) with the caveat not to sell it, trade it or give it away. The award is displayed on the first shelf of a case in the middle of the back wall in the main room.

“That’s the No. 1 item that’s here,” Valella said. “I think the Gold Glove is one of the nicest things we’ve got here – and the story.”

There’s no telling how much all the memorabilia housed in the museum is worth, but rest assured it’s all insured. Former Phillies reliever, current studio host and future Hall inductee Ricky Bottalico toured the museum during broadcast partner Michael Barkann’s induction and asked what they thought the Mays Gold Glove was worth. Museum officials estimated conservatively $150,000. Bottalico said they should double it, in a tone that that suggested even his assessment was low.

After all, you can’t put a price on memories.

Curator Ed Forman (L) and chairman Dom Valella flank the most prized possession of the All-Sports Museum of Southern New Jersey — Willie Mays’ 1960 National League Gold Glove.


PVLL’s run comes to an end

Pennsville LL 12U All-Stars eliminated from Section 4 Tournament by Hammonton; Senior Softball State Tournament delayed again by conditions

SATURDAY’S GAMES
SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
Blackwood 10, Cherry Hill American 2
Hammonton 3, Pennsville 1 (PVLL eliminated)
SENIOR SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
At Dennis Twp. LL, Cape May Court House
All Games postponed.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SICKLERVILLE – There couldn’t have been a worse time for the bats to go cold.

The bats that served the Pennsville LL All-Stars so well on their run to a 12U district title fell agonizingly silent in the next tournament on the road to Williamsport.

Pennsville was limited to four singles Saturday and just couldn’t get a ball through with runners on base, falling to Hammonton 3-1 to end their stay in the New Jersey Section 4 Tournament after two games.

Pennsville hit .324 as a team with 12 home runs in winning the District 3 title last week, but had just five hits and a .161 average in their two sectional tournament games at the Erial LL complex.

“The first couple innings we got runners on and we couldn’t string hits together,” Pennsville manager Steve Pangle said. “We weren’t putting our hits together.

“The pitching was better … but we had our chances and we should have capitalized on them. We just didn’t swing the bats like we did in districts. It was a bad time for our bats to kind of go silent.”

Pennsville put their first two hitters on each of the first two innings, but couldn’t get them home. They scored their only run in in the third inning to make it 2-1 when Brayden Weatherbee rode home on Lauden Tighe’s sacrifice fly. 

Hammonton took a 2-0 lead in the second on Lucas Ewer’s RBI double and Roman Murtucci’s  two-out RBI single. They made it 3-1 in the third on Brayden Templeton’s RBI double.

Pennsville threatened in the sixth, putting the tying runs in scoring position with two outs and their top hitters coming to the plate. But Hammonton centerfielder Carter Lolio ran down Nathan Breeden’s liner in the gap for the final out of the game.

“They had a lot of heart to keep fighting the entire time even when we were down the whole game,” Pangle said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the way they fought throughout the entire game. They have a lot of heart. They just wanted to keep fighting.”

Outfielder Chase Pangle, who had one of Pennsville’s four hits in the game, called it “sad” to lose, but pushing through the disappointment of the day he said it was “really fun” putting together the success the team enjoyed this summer.

“It was great,” Steve Pangle said of the run. “The kids all came together. They’re all friends outside of here, but they really jelled as a team; the further we got in the tournament, the better they got together and the better they knew each other. They had each other’s back. They had the coaches’ back. They turned into a family. The growth overall from the first practice to tonight was huge.”

Senior Softball ppd. again

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – The Senior Softball State Tournament was postponed for the second day in a row due to weather-related conditions.

All the games scheduled for the Dennis Twp. LL complex Saturday (from Friday) have been pushed back to Sunday starting at 11 a.m. Two teams will have to play three games Sunday to reach Monday’s championship round.

The eventual state champion advances to the East Regional in Worcester, Mass., where they will oppose Rising Sun, Md., in their opener July 20. MOT/Middletown, Del., also has secured a spot in the Mid-Atlantic pool. The Pennsylvania and New York champs are also in that pool.

As frustrating as the weather delay has been, it allowed the Pennsville All-Stars to get most of their players back who were competing in various travel ball tournaments over the weekend.

SENIOR SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
At Dennis Twp. LL, Cape May Court House
SUNDAY’S GAMES
G1: District 1 vs. Bayonne, 11 a.m. 
G2: Toms River vs. Pennsville, 11 a.m.
G3: District 1-Bayonne loser vs. Toms River-Pennsville loser, 2 p.m. 
G4: District 1-Bayonne winner vs. Toms River-Pennsville winner, 2 p.m. 
G5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 5 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAMES
G5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 a.m. (winner to East Regional at Worchester, Mass.)
G6: If necessary, 2 p.m. (winner vs. Rising Sun, Md., in East Regional at Worchester, Mass.)

Section 4 LL Tournament
Hammonton 3, Pennsville 1

Pennsville001000-141
Hammonton02100X-372
WP: Brayden Templeton. LP: Cayden L’Ecuyer. S: Roman Murtucci. 2B: Brayden Templeton (H), Lucas Ewer (H).

Blackwood 10, Cherry Hill American 2

Cherry Hill A’s000200-266
Blackwood10036X-1072


Tough opener

Pennsville LL All-Stars drop sectional opener, Senior Softball gets washed out at state tournament

FRIDAY’S GAMES
SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G1: Cherry Hill American 9, Hammonton 0
G3: East Greenwich 10, Pennsville 0

SENIOR SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
At Dennis Twp. LL, Cape May Court House
All games ppd.
G1: District 1 vs. Bayonne
G2: Toms River vs. Pennsville

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SICKLERVILLE – With all the joy and momentum the Pennsville Little League All-Stars carried from winning their first district championship in five years last week, this was not the way they wanted to start the sectional tournament.

Pennsville struggled at the plate, on the mound and in the field Friday night and lost their Section 4 Tournament opener to East Greenwich 10-0 in four innings at the Erial Little League complex. They’ll look to stay alive Saturday in a 7 p.m. elimination game against Hammonton.

The District 3 champions were held to one hit, struck out nine times and were charged with six errors in the field. Brayden Roberts had their only hit, a solid single to center leading off the fourth inning. Their only other base runner was John Swiderski’s two-out walk in the first.

“We couldn’t put the bat on the ball,” Pennsville manager Steve Pangle said. “We were letting the umpires dictate the game for us and we can’t do that. If they’re calling it a certain way, we’ve got to be able to adjust and tonight we weren’t able to do that.”

East Greenwich starter Brian McCloskey pitched the first 3 1/3 innings and went through the Pennsville lineup once. He allowed one hit and struck out eight. Earlier in the tournament he blanked Glassboro LL for 5.1 innings on one hit and 11 strikeouts.

Pennsville starter JoJo Mannino expended a lot of energy in the first inning, throwing 30 pitches, but he only gave up one run through it all. East Greenwich scored and then loaded the bases with no outs, but Mannino put out the fire with a liner to second baseman Owen Whalen and a pair of strikeouts.

But East Greenwich got to Mannino in the third, breaking it open with eight runs. All 13 of their hitters batted in the inning. They put together four hits, including two-run singles by Zach Kenderdine and Mason Trotter, three errors and three walks (two with the bases loaded) to build their big inning.

“That was an uncharacteristic inning for us,” Pangle said. “We may have one here or there but we’re not a team that has multiple (errors) in the same inning that could hurt us. Tonight we just didn’t bring our best stuff as a team. We just didn’t come as our best team and it showed out there on the field. Tomorrow we’ll be back and we’ll be better.”

East Greenwich now awaits the winner of Saturday’s Cherry Hill American-Blackwood game.

NOTES: Pennsville was playing in the sectional tournament for the tenth time in its history. They have won at least one game in each of their last five appearances. East Greenwich was in the sectional for just the third time and first since going back to back in 2013-14 … Ever wonder how Pennsville got placed in District 3 playing in a section with districts in the teens when the low single-digit districts have been North Jersey designations from the start? District 3 had been a Bergen County district since the state organized into 12 districts in 1957, but it was dissolved in 1981 when its chartered leagues dwindled and the remaining ones placed in District 4. District 3 was reformed in 1985 in Salem and Cumberland counties as a spinoff from Districts 15 and 16. 

East Greenwich 10, Pennsville 0

Pensville (7-3)0000– 016
East Greenwich (5-0)1081–1060
WP: Brian McCloskey. LP: JoJo Mannino.

Cherry Hill American 9, Hammonton 0

Hammonton (7-1)000000–032
Cherry Hill American (6-1)180000–933

Softball washed out

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Pennsville’s fifth straight appearance in the Little League softball state tournament has been delayed at least a day by bad weather in the shore area.

All the games scheduled at the Dennis Twp. LL complex Friday were moved to Saturday at 11 a.m., weather permitting, with the games originally scheduled for 11 Saturday pushed back to 2 p.m.

“Totally par for the course,” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said, reminded of the weather issues the team has encountered in previous state tournament appearances. “But it gives us an extra day to practice, I think; our field is in good shape. Hopefully we can get out there and get the bats going again and be ready for tomorrow.

“I think we’re all used to the rainouts and everything at this point; we’ve been doing this for years. The only difference is this year I’ve got a bed cover for my truck so we don’t have to go into a tournament with soaking equipment like we did last year.”

The forecast for an already drenched area did not look good for Saturday.

“I don’t think anybody is really confident about playing tomorrow, either,” Watson said. “Realistically, I think we’ll play Sunday and the championship on Monday.”

If the games are washed out again Saturday, it would give Pennsville a chance to get all its players back from various travel ball tournaments they’re playing in the South.

When the tournament does get underway, Pennsville plays Toms River in its opener, while District 1 and Bayonne battle it out on the other side of the bracket.

SATURDAY’S GAMES
SENIOR SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
At Dennis Twp. LL, Cape May Court House
G1: District 1 vs. Bayonne, 11 a.m. 
G2: Toms River vs. Pennsville, 11 a.m.
G3: District 1-Bayonne loser vs. Toms River-Pennsville loser, 2 p.m. 
G4: District 1-Bayonne winner vs. Toms River-Pennsville winner, 2 p.m. 
G5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 5 p.m.
SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G2: Cherry Hill American vs. Blackwood, 5 p.m.
G4: Hammonton vs. Pennsville, 7 p.m.

PVLL playoff schedule

Here is the upcoming schedule for the Section 4 Little League and NJ State Senior Softball tournaments involving teams from Pennsville Little League

Friday, July 12
SENIOR SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
At Dennis Twp. LL, Cape May Court House
G1: District 1 vs. Bayonne, 5:30 p.m.
G2: Toms River vs. Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.

SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G1: Hammonton vs. Cherry Hill American, 6 p.m.
G3: East Greenwich vs. Pennsville, 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 13
SENIOR SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
At Dennis Twp. LL, Cape May Court House
G3: District 1-Bayonne loser vs. Toms River-Pennsville loser, 11 a.m.
G4: District 1-Bayonne winner vs. Toms River-Pennsville winner, 11 a.m.
G5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m.

SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G2: Hammonton-Cherry Hill American winner vs. Blackwood, 5 p.m.
G4: Hammonton-Cherry Hill American loser vs. East Greenwich-Pennsville loser, 7 p.m.

Sunday, July 14
SENIOR SOFTBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
At Dennis Twp. LL, Cape May Court House
G5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11 a.m. (winner to East Regional at Worchester, Mass.)
G6: If necessary, 2 p.m. (winner to East Regional at Worchester, Mass.)

SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G5: East Greenwich-Pennsville winner vs. Hammonton/Cherry Hill American/Blackwood winner, 5 p.m.
G6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 2 loser, 7 p.m.

Monday, July 15
SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 5 loser, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, July 16
SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 7 p.m. (winner to state tournament at Freehold Twp.)

Wednesday, July 17
SECTION 4 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
At Erial LL, Sicklerville
G9: If necessary, 7 p.m. (winner to state tournament at Freehold Twp.)

PVLL’s historic night

Pennsville Little League 12U All-Stars wins first district championship since 2019 with an 8-2 winner-take-all win over South Vineland

DISTRICT 3 TOURNAMENT
Championship Game
At East Vineland
Pennsville 8, South Vineland 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

VINELAND – Pennsville manager Steve Pangle walked back to the dugout from all the post-game picture-taking under the scoreboard with the championship banner draped over his shoulders like a cape. It was with great reluctance he handed it over when his rightfielder son Chase came out to pack it away for the ride home.

MANNINO

It’s been five years since Pennsville Little League’s 12U All-Stars had the chance to hang a banner in the clubhouse, so it was understandable Pangle didn’t want to give it up easily.

The Pennsville All-Stars won their first district title since 2019 Saturday night – and tenth all time — when they put together a seven-run fifth inning to turn back South Vineland 8-2 in a winner-take-all “if” game for the District 3 crown. That 2019 title run also was the last time Pennsville won a game in the tournament.

“You just gave me the chills just by saying that,” Pangle said. “This is huge. I couldn’t be more proud of the kids. This is all their doing. They fought the entire time, the entire year. We were feeling down at the beginning of the game, but we rallied. We didn’t start off strong, but it’s not how you start it’s how you finish.”

Playing JoJo baseball

They didn’t name an MVP for the tournament, but if they had, it clearly would have gone to JoJo Mannino. The Pennsville ace, who Pangle called “an all-around great player,” came within one out of pitching a complete game – one pitch as it turned out — and hit a grand slam in the fifth inning that put the game away.

The slam was Mannino’s 20th home run of the summer, his seventh of the district tournament and sixth in his last six district tournament games. He also had a grounds-rule double in the first inning. He hit .526 in the tournament with 11 runs and 17 RBIs. Nine of his 10 hits went for extra bases.

“My mindset coming to the plate all the time is make contact, hit it hard and make it go far, too,” Mannino said. “The pitch I hit he honestly just put it down the middle and that’s the happy zone. I just turned on it and hit it hard.”

“He’s in that four hole for a reason,” Pangle said. “He’s what gets us started at times. We just told him to go up and have fun. Just do your thing, do what you do. Do JoJo baseball. Do Pennsville baseball. And that’s what he did.”

On the mound, Mannino pitched a gem. He gave up three hits, two unearned runs and struck out nine. He hit his pitch limit with two outs in the sixth inning. Caleb Fontaine threw one pitch to get the final out of the game. 

He was 2-1 in the tournament with a 1.76 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 17 innings.

“I just wanted the game to get over real fast,” Mannino said. “Not to mean I just want to go home. I wanted to get over fast and win this. My mindset on the mound was throw strikes.” 

Pennsville manager Steve Pangle tells his players how much he believes in them during a gathering right before they erupt for a seven-run inning to win the game.

Pensville’s big inning came after South Vineland starter JoJo Rodriguez had left the game after reaching his 85-pitch limit. Pennsville scored the first two runs of its big inning on wild pitches and got a third when South Vineland misplayed John Swiderski’s infield chop along the line before it could roll foul. Then Mannino put it away with his blast.

“That couldn’t have been a bigger hit for Pennsville baseball right now,” Pangle said. “Hitting that grand slam means everything, not just to me, to the coaches, to the boys, but the town of Pennsville itself, especially since not being in this position since 2019. 

“You feel like there for a while Pennsville’s baseball might have been dying a little bit. We’re lucky with these group of boys. They’re special, they get along, it’s a great group of kids to be around, great group of coaches to be around. We’re ready to go.”

Rodriguez was controlling Pennsville during his time in the game. He gave up four hits and struck out seven, but he prematurely reached his pitch limit by continually overthrowing his pitches and running deep counts. Still, he was able to get out of several jams as Pennsville left five runners in scoring position over the first four innings.

But at no time did Pangle lose confidence in his team pulling out the game.

“We told them we haven’t gotten this far without your guys,” he said. “I believe in you, the coaches believe in you, you’ve got to believe in yourself. I still feel it in my gut, in my heart, that we’re going to come out winners. This is our inning, this is our time, and they came in that fifth inning and said they felt it. I said if you feel it, you’re talking about feeling it, now show it. And they did.”

Pennsville now advances to the Section 4 Tournament at the Erial LL complex in Sicklerville. They play East Greenwich is their opener Friday at 8 p.m.

NOTES: Pennsville’s district titles have come in 2024, 2019, 2010, 1993, 1991, 1983, 1979, 1978, 1975 and 1967 … They have never won a sectional title. They are 6-13 all-time in sectional play, and have won their opener four times … Keeping with a Salem County theme, Woodstown and Penns Grove each won two district titles pre-1965.

District 3 Championship Game
Pennsville 8, South Vineland 2

Pennsville (7-2)010070-873
South Vineland (6-2)020000-232
WP: JoJo Mannino. LP: Mylus Moore. 2B: JoJo Mannino (PV), Elijuah Perez (SV). 3B: Caiden Colomy (PV). HR: JoJo Mannino (PV).

Section 4 Tournament
At Erial LL, Sicklerville, July 12-17

(Early Rounds)
Friday’s Games
G1: Hammonton vs. District 13, 6 p.m.
G3: East Greenwich vs. Pennsville, 8 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
G2: Hammonton-District 13 winner vs. Blackwood, 5 p.m.
G4: Hammonton-District 13 loser vs. East Greenwich-Pennsville loser, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
G5: East Greenwich-Pennsville winner vs. Hammonton/13.Blackwood winner, 5 p.m.
G6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 2 loser, 7 p.m.

Pennsville At A Glance

PLAYERABRHBI
Nate Morrison251293
Nathan Breeden217107
John Swiderski219128
JoJo Mannino19111017
Cayden L’Ecuyer12432
Chase Pangle21551
Caiden Colomy18364
Caleb Fontaine19452
Brayden Weatherbee14313
Lauden Tighe16461
Brayden Roberts13400
Owen Whalen14223
HRs: Morrison, Breeden, Swiderski 3, Mannino 7.
Pennsville slugger JoJo Mannino (27) is greeted by teammate Owen Whalen on the way back to the dugout after Mannino hit a grand slam to seal the District 3 Little League Tournament title game.




Pennsville forces ‘if’ game

Pennsville 12U All-Stars hands South Vineland first loss of tournament to set up winner-take-all game for District 3 LL title

DISTRICT 3 LL TOURNAMENT
Championship Round
(At East Vineland LL)
Pennsville 13, South Vineland 4
Saturday’s game
Pennsville vs. South Vineland, 7 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

VINELAND – The Pennsville Little League 12U All-Stars wasted little time making their intentions known about wanting to play for a district championship.

They scored early and often to beat South Vineland 13-4 Friday and set up a winner-take-all game Saturday for the District 3 Tournament title.

John Swiderski and JoJo Mannino hit back-to-back homers in a four-run first inning and Pennsville added five in the second to open a 9-0 lead.

“Being able to put up nine runs in the first two innings sent a statement saying you beat us once, you’re not going to beat us again,” Pennsville manager Steve Pangle said, referring to South Vineland’s 7-2 win in pool play. “We’re here to win it and the kids came ready to go.

“From the first batter all the way to our 12th batter each kid was ready to go. Being able to put up the four and the five just shows they were aggressive, they were ready to battle.”

Swiderski and Mannino went back-to-back in the first to extend Pennsville’s lead to 3-1. For Swiderski, it was his second homer in as many games. For Mannino it was his sixth homer of the tournament and fifth in the last five games.

It was the second time this tournament Mannino was part of back-to-back jacks, but the first time they were both over the fence. He and Nate Breeden hit back-to-back inside-the-park homers at Bridgeton in their final pool game.

Swiderski and Mannino also drove runs home in the second inning. They were both 2-for-2 with two RBIs. The first six hitters in Pennsville’s lineup were 10-for-16 with eight runs scored and seven RBIs.

“I think the statement we made was we’re coming out here to play,” Mannino said. “I loved the way we started today because we don’t really start off real hot. We usually start off light, but today we came out blazing. We were ready today.”

The big early lead gave pitcher Cayden L’Ecuyer “a lot more confidence” going to the mound in a high-stakes game. L’Ecuyer struck out the side in order in the first, held South Vineland to one run and five hits the first time through the 12-man lineup and pitched into the fifth inning before reaching his pitch limit . Caleb Fontaine got the final four outs without a ball leaving the infield.

L’Ecuyer wound up giving up eight hits and striking out six without issuing a walk. He got the win in Wednesday’s elimination game with East Vineland as well.

“He was brilliant,” Pangle said. “He pitched beautifully and did exactly what we wanted him to do. I don’t think the other team knew we had another pitcher like that right now, and that was huge for us not to use him and wait towards the end of the tournament to use him.”

The win came on a two-year anniversary of Pennsville’s win over South Vineland in the 10U playoffs. All but two of the current Pennsville players were on that team.

There will be a little more spice to Saturday’s meeting than a normal championship game after an incident involving an illegal bat resulted in the ejection of a South Vineland manager and player and carryover sanctions Saturday.

The controversy arose with two outs in the third inning after Kayden Potts followed Mason Mendez’ solo homer with a double. The umpires determined the pencil bat Potts used in his at-bat was illegal in 12U Little League. As a result, Potts, South Vineland manager Hiram Cordero and the bat were all thrown out of the game and possibly suspended for Saturday’s game.

South Vineland acting manager Delmo Perez said he would be contacting league, district and state Little League officials to get some clarification and potentially contest the game “because that is the gamechanger of this whole entire thing.” He said the bats were checked prior to the game.

As a result of the controversy Pangle said he expects to face an opponent with a chip on its shoulder Saturday and Perez said as much.

“My boys are going to come ready tomorrow, most definitely,” he said. “They got kicked in the mouth and now they’re ready to kick somebody in the mouth.”

After the incident, South Vineland’s proper bats came to life briefly in the fourth. They scored three runs to get within 10-4 before L’Ecuyer rediscovered his focus and retired the next three batters on nine pitches to kill the rally.

“I wasn’t worried about those runs,” L’Ecuyer said. “I was just trying to show them that they aren’t that good and it’s only four runs.”

The winner of Saturday’s game will play East Greenwich in the opening round of the Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL July 12.

District 3 LL Tournament
Pennsville 13, South Vineland 4

Pennsville (6-2)451012-13121
South Vineland (6-1)001300-481
WP: Cayden L’Ecuyer (2-0). LP: Elijuah Perez. 2B: Kaden Potts (SV). 3B: J.J. Rodriguez (SV). HR: John Swiderski (P), JoJo Mannino (P), Mason Mendez (SV)

Pennsville’s Hitters At A Glance

PLAYERABRHBI
Nate Morrison231193
Nathan Breeden187107
John Swiderski198107
JoJo Mannino1610813
Cayden L’Ecuyer10432
Chase Pangle18551
Caiden Colomy15244
Caleb Fontaine16342
Brayden Weatherbee13313
Lauden Tighe16361
Brayden Roberts12300
Owen Whalen12122
HRs: Morrison, Breeden, Swiderski 3, Mannino 6.
Pennsville’s Cayden L’Ecuyer and South Vineland pitcher Elijuah Perez both look towards the umpire after L’Ecuyer slid safely into home to score in the first inning of their District 3 championship round game. On the cover, Pennsville players mob John Swiderski at the plate after his first-inning homer.

‘It’s our turn’

Pennsville reaches District 3 Little League championship round after knocking off East Vineland 10-5

DISTRICT 3 LL FINALS
At East Vineland
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Pennsvile 10, East Vineland 5 (EV eliminated)
FRIDAY’S GAME
Pennsville vs. South Vineland, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Pennsville vs. South Vineland (If necessary), 7 p.m.
(Winner to Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL, starting July 12)

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

VINELAND — It has been five years since Pennsville LL played for a district title. Manager Steve Pangle figures it’s about their time.

Pennsville used two big innings, got several big hits, some solid pitching and ended the game with a fabulous catch to turn back East Vineland 10-5 and reach the District 3 Tournament championship round.

They now play undefeated South Vineland here at Fiocchi Field Friday at 7 p.m. in the first of potentially two championship games. If Pennsville wins, the teams will return for a winner-take-all game Saturday at 7 p.m.

“I think we’re in great position,” Pangle said. “We used our pitchers smartly here today, that way we can still used them on Friday. I feel really good about Friday. As a coaching staff we’re pumped, we’re eady. The boys are pumped and ready, just the way they acted when they got that last out.

“This is us. This is our turn. This is our time. They really rallied together to really make it our time.”

Pennsville rallied from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the team that sent them into the loser’s bracket on Opening Night of the Final Four. They took the lead with five in the third inning, highlighted by Nate Breeden’s go-ahead two-run single, and after East Vineland got back within 6-5 they scored four in the fifth, capped by John Swiderski’s three-run homer, for a lot of breathing room.

The last time Pennsville played for the 12U district title, 2019, they won it. Most of the players on this year’s team were playing coach-pitch back then.

Swiderski’s homer in the fifth inning came after Owen Whalen led off with a double, Nate Morrison walked and Breeden singled home Whalen. Breeden was 2-for-2 in the game with three RBIs and is 5-for-6 in the playoff portion of the tournament

“That was huge,” Pangle said. “We were telling him he’s due, he’s due for a homer. He hadn’t hit one since the first game in Pennsville. We just kept telling him to keep at it, your time’s coming, not the homer so much but you’re big hit’s coming; we can see it. And we told him to believe in himself. If you believe in yourself, good things will come, and that’s what happened.”

“It meant a lot to me because I struggled last game,” Swiderski said. “I was just trying to help myself on the mound, get some more support runs.”

Swiderski came to the mound to put out a fire in the fifth, getting the final out of the inning on a full-count strikeout with the bases loaded, and closed it out in the sixth with a little help from his best friend. Left fielder Caleb Fontaine ran down travel ball teammate Carter Perkins’ shot to the left centerfield gap, stretching out and snagging the ball in the fingers of his glove for the final out of the game.

“I can’t even believe I caught it,” Fontaine said. “It was kind of like one of the best catches I’ve ever caught in my life. I was just running as fast as I could to get there.”

The momentum of the play carried Fontaine to the ground where his teammates mobbed him as if he just delivered a walk-off homer.

“That was awesome,” Swiderski said. “Me and Caleb are best friends and we’re best friends for life now.”

Another key to Pennsville’s success was the way it handled EV slugger Enzo Canderlario. They were the first team this tournament to keep Candelario in the yard. He did score twice, but with Pennsville pitching him the way MLB pitchers go after Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos — outside and low — he went without a homer for the first time in six district tournament games and was officially 0-for-2. They took the bat out of his hands in the fifth with an intentional walk.

Swiderski’s homer in the bottom of the fifth basically made it so Canderlario wouldn’t beat them if he came up in the sixth if the pitchers took care of business at the start of the inning. Thanks to Fontaine’s catch, they never had to test that theory.

“(We wanted to) keep it out of the zone; pitch around him and have him chase stuff,” Pangle said. “We wanted to stay out of the zone, but just off the zone to where he could do little dribblers if he did make contact or miss it altogether.”

Because everything came together in one place Wednesday night, Pennsville now is two wins away from a district championship.

“Big things are happening right now in Pennsville with baseball and softball.,” Pangle said. “It couldn’t be better right now..”

Pennsville 10, East Vineland 5

East Vineland (4-2)111020-572
Pennsville (5-2)01504X-1063
WP: Cayden L.Ecuyer. LP: Ethan Kleinow. 2B: Matt DePalma (EV), John Swiderski (P), Nate Breeden (P), Owen Whalen (P). HR: John Swiderski (P).
Brayden Roberts (22) slides in with the go-ahead run during Pennsville’s five-run third inning Wednesday. On the cover, Roberts leaps into the arms of pitcher John Swiderski after Pennsville sealed the 10-5 victory.

Staying alive

Pennsville staves off elimination in the District 3 LL Tournament behind Morrison’s pitching and big extra-base hits by Mannino, Weatherbee; South Vineland reaches championship round; includes Section 4 softball update

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

VINELAND – The Pennsville bats were stifled for the first four innings of their District 3 elimination game Tuesday night, but manager Steve Pangle never lost confidence they would come around and he let his players know it every chance he got.

The bats did come alive in a big way in the fifth inning and now the Pennsville 12U All-Stars are playing for a spot in the district championship game.

JoJo Mannino crushed a two-run homer and Brayden Weatherbee roped a three-run double to fuel a five-run fifth that carried Pennsville to a 5-3 win over Millville American in the District 3 Little League Tournament. They now play East Vineland in East Vineland Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. with a place in the championship game opposite South Vineland in the balance.

Millville starter Vash Jacobs, helped by a couple double plays, had faced only one batter over the minimum through a scoreless four innings, but Pennsville got to him in the fifth.

Nathan Breeden got it started with a leadoff double and he scored on Mannino’s no-doubter of a go-ahead two-run homer. Cayden L’Ecuyer restarted it by reaching on a dropped third strike, Chase Pangle singled, Caleb Fontaine drew a two-out walk to load the bases and then Weatherbee brought them all around with his hit of the game.

“I was confident the bats would come around,” Pangle said. “I just wanted to hang with them, stay with them, keep the score close if not the same (until they did).

“I preached to them the whole game that this is our game. I felt it. I could just feel the vibe how we did warmups. I let them know every inning they came out this is us, you’ve got to have it in your heart right now. I feel it; you’ve got to feel it.

“In the fourth inning, after they got that (go-ahead) hit, a couple of the kids came up and were like I feel it. I said, you feel that? Yes, I feel it. All right then let’s do it and that’s when we had the five-run inning.”

None of the hits were bigger than Weatherbee’s double – and not just for what it did to the scoreboard. The only 11-year-old on the roster, Weatherbee was 0-for-10 in the tournament with seven strikeouts and had fanned in his previous three at-bats before sending his bases-clearing double into right field.

“It worried me some,” Weatherbee said of the slump, “but even major-league players get in a slump. I just kept on trying to swing, hit the ball and make contact with it and here we are today where I hit a double and sent three people home. I was a little bit sad (about not having a hit), but then when I hit it, it was amazing.”

“We know any kid on this team can hit the ball at any time,” Pangle said. “People are going to go through slumps and that’s fine; we’ve preached having each other’s back. You may not get a hit for a while and then all of a sudden you get that hit when we need it. That’s been our message the entire year: Just keep fighting. That was just big by him. Lifted his confidence way up. It was a monster three-run double for us.”

Pennsville starter Nate Morrison was just as unhittable as Jacobs early in the game. He faced one batter over the minimum through the first three innings and pitched into the sixth before reaching his pitch limit getting the first two batters out. He allowed only six hits over 5 2/3 innings, two unearned runs, no walks and struck out five.

Millville threatened once Morrison left the game, bringing the winning run to the plate, but reliever Caiden Colomy closed it out by getting a game-ending liner to short.

“I wasn’t worried at all,” Pangle said. “(Colomy) was the right guy. We had the utmost confidence in him. We went out and talked to him after he got a couple base runners on. We told him we believe in you, you believe in yourself, the team believes in you, this is your game, let’s finish it, and that’s what he did.”

SOUTH VINELAND 5, EAST VINELAND 2: South Vineland answered East Vineland’s two runs in the top of the fourth with two in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, then took the lead with three in the fifth to reach the championship round of the tournament.

Mason Mendez drew a bases-loaded walk to break the 2-2 tie and Kaden Potts followed with a two-run single to extend the lead.

Derek Cuba, the walk-off hero of South Vineland’s seventh-inning win over Millville Monday, pitched the first 5 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits, two earned runs and struck out seven. Ronald Leverette got the final two outs, getting a ground out with the bases loaded to end the game.

South Vineland did manage to get East Vineland slugger Enzo Candelario out once, but Candelario went 2-for-3 and hit his sixth homer in five tournament games.

South Vineland will play the survivor of the losers bracket in the championship game 7 p.m. Friday at East Vineland.

DISTRICT 3 LL FINALS
TUESDAY’S GAMES
(At South Vineland LL)
South Vineland 5, East Vineland 2
Pennsville 5, Millville American 3 (Millville eliminated)
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
Pennsville vs. East Vineland, 5:45 p.m.
FRIDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
G6: South Vineland vs. Pennsville-East Vineland winner, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
G7: If necessary, 7 p.m.
(Winner to Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL, starting July 12)

South Vineland 5, East Vineland 2

East Vineland (4-1)000200-284
South Vineland (6-0)000230-552
WP: Derek Cuba. LP: Carter Perkins. 2B: Elijuah Perez (SV). HR: Enzo Candelario (EV).

Pennsville 5, Millville American 3

Pennsville (4-2)000050-564
Millville American (2-3)000111-380
WP: Nate Morrison. LP: Vash Jacobs. S; Caiden Colomy. 2B: Nathan Breeden (PV), Brayden Weatherbee (PV), Carter Robinson (MA). HR: JoJo Mannino (P). Enzo Candelario (EV), Ethan Kleinow (EV).

Section 4 Senior Softball

Pennsville Senior Softball will play host Middle Twp. for the Section 4 championship Wednesday at 6 p.m. after Middle routed Monroe Twp. 20-6 in Tuesday’s elimination game. Pennsville beat Middle 7-2 in its tournament opener Monday night.

SECTION 4 SENIOR SOFTBALL
(At Middle Twp. LL)
TUESDAY’S GAME
Middle/Dennis Twp. 20, Monroe Twp. 6 (Monroe eliminated)
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
G4: Pennsville vs. Middle/Dennis Twp., 6 p.m.
G5: If necessary, 8 p.m.
(Winner to State Tournament at Dennis Twp. LL)

The big dawg eats

Candelario, Kleinow homer in fifth-inning outburst that lefts East Vineland past Pennsville LL in District 3 Final Four

MONDAY’S GAMES
(At Pennsville LL)
South Vineland 6, Millville American 5 (7 inns.)
East Vineland 7, Pennsville 4

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – JoJo Mannino saw his young life flash before his eyes in the bottom of the third inning Monday night. That’s when East Vineland slugger Enzo Candelario ripped a screaming liner back to the mound that his travel ball teammate barely had time to raise his glove and catch.

It could have been a frightening outcome for a team that had dealt with a player being struck by a batted ball once already in the tournament. If it was any consolation, it was the only time the Pennsville All-Stars — or anybody in the tournament, for that matter — has gotten the most dangerous hitter out in the District 3 Little League Tournament this year.

“I put it right down the middle for him, which is a bad idea by me, and he hit it back to me,” Mannino said. “It wasn’t that much of a scare. I just saw the ball and put my glove out there.”

The next time Candelario came to the plate, they weren’t so fortunate. He reached down to hit a three-run homer that wiped out a Pennsville lead and sent East Vineland on its way to a 7-4 victory.

East Vineland will now play South Vineland in a winner’s bracket game Wednesday 5:45 p.m. at South Vineland LL. Pennsville will look to stave off elimination against Millville American at 8 p.m. South Vineland rallied for four in the bottom of the seventh, capped by Derek Cuba’s one-out walk-off single, to beat Millville 6-5 in the opening game.

There’s no denying Candelario is the toughest out in the tournament. After going 2-for-3 against Pennsville, he is now 10-for-11 in four tournament games with eight runs scored, 10 RBIs and five home runs. He has hit 43 homers this summer between Little League and travel ball and at least one in each of his team’s District 3 tournament games.

“He’s tough,” Pennsville manager Steve Pangle said. “We were able to get him a couple times, to keep him in-house, in the yard, but that third time he made us pay. It was the perfect pitch, but he made the swing.”

The three-run shot was part of a five-run eruption for East Vineland in the fifth inning. Ethan Kleinow provided the other two runs with a two-run homer. It was his first homer of the season in rec ball.

Pennsville looked to be in a great shape after scoring three runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead. Mannino got it started with a game-tying solo homer with one out. Caiden Colomy, back in the lineup after being held out of Saturday’s pool play finale, put the National Division runner-ups ahead 3-2 with an RBI double and then scored what seemed to be an insurance run on a wild pitch.

“I’m proud of myself,” said Colomy, still sporting the shiner under his left eye from where a foul ball knocked him out of the South Vineland game. “I was trying to get a good hit to really get the team hyped.”

“It was awesome getting the lead, especially with Chili coming back and helping us out with that,” Pangle said. “That just shows his heart and fight, coming back from the injury and first game back hitting a ball to get us some runs.”

Colomy may have given Pennsville the lead, but they still had to get through the meat of East Vineland’s order one more time before they could secure the victory and that meant dealing with Candelario again.

There were two outs and a base open when the slugger came to the plate in the fifth and Pangle admitted he contemplated briefly intentionally walking him to load the bases. Colomy wanted to challenge him and that’s what they did.

Colomy blasted a fastball past him on the first pitch, and then threw a pitch down and away they didn’t think he could get. He reached down and got it.

“It crossed my mind, but you never know what’s going to happen with that next batter,” Pangle said. “It could’ve gone either way. If he didn’t reach for that pitch that would’ve been a strike two and then anything could happen. We just decided to go after him.”

Pennsville thought it was still in it even after the two homers. They put their first two runners on in the sixth and had them both in scoring position with one out, but ended the game with an 8-6-2 double play.

“We didn’t lose the game because of that play; there were a lot of other things we lost the game for,” Pangle said. “But that was tough, because it was a winnable game.”

SOUTH VINELAND 7, MILLVILLE AMERICAN 6: Millville scored three in the top of the seventh to take the lead, but South Vineland manager Hiram Cordero wasn’t worried. He knew what his team had coming to the plate in the bottom of the inning.

With the top of the lineup coming up, the undefeated American Division winner rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to bwin their fifth straight game in the tournament.

Ronald Leverette and Elijuah Rodriguez got it started with singles and Joel Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Matt Dilks delivered a two-run single with one out to make it a one-run game. They tied it on Mylus Moore’s infield single and walked it off when Derek Cuba sliced the game-winning single into right field.

“I knew we were going to do this,” Cordero said. “This is the team. They play better under pressure, especially under two outs. That’s what this team is about. We don’t give up. We started at the top of the lineup. We knew when it was the top of the lineup it was game time.”

Cuba was never worried.

“I knew if we had faith we could probably win this game,” he said.

DISTRICT 3 LL FINALS
TUESDAY’S GAMES
(At South Vineland LL)
G3: South Vineland vs. East Vineland, 5:45 p.m.
G4: Millville American vs. Pennsville, 8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
G5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 5:45 p.m.
FRIDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
G6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAME
(At East Vineland)
G7: If necessary, 7 p.m.
(Winner to Section 4 Tournament at Erial LL, starting July 12)

South Vineland 6, Millville American 5

Millville American (2-2)1001003-5130
South Vineland (5-0)2000004-681
WP: Elijuah Perez. LP: Braydon Moore. 2B: Braydon Moore (MA), Carter Robinson (MA), Chase Wagner (MA), J.J. Rodriguez (SV)

East Vineland 7, Pennsville 4

Pennsville (3-2)010030-442
East Vineland (4-0)11005X-761
WP: Dominic Tolotti. LP: Caiden Colomy. 2B: Caiden Colomy (P). HR: JoJo Mannino (P). Enzo Candelario (EV), Ethan Kleinow (EV)